‘Go easy on us, it’ll be good’: Charlote Nicado breaks down THAT shocking ‘Mythic Quest’ moment
Mythic Quest season 4 has come to a close and left fans with a lot to unpack. Like the fact that THAT happened. And now we have to wait did answers???
The end of season 4 proved something I have known from the start. Poppy and Ian are meant to be together. Whether you think that means romantically or as friends and business partners, that is completely up to you. For me, I wanted to see a romantic storyline between the two and now, after the finale, we seem to be heading that way.
As part of the finale’s release, I spoke with Charlotte Nicado, who plays Poppy, about the finale and she made one thing very clear: Everyone thought it through.
Nicado and I spoke about Poppy’s arc, the final moments between her and Ian, and dan reactions. You can read our conversation below.
The Mary Sue: So to start, I want to say this season finale really kind of sets up an idea I’ve already always had about Ian and Poppy, that they are soulmates, even if it’s not in a romantic sense, that they are always gonna be drawn back to each other. Is that something that you guys talked about as the show unraveled or was that always from the get go that you guys knew that was their dynamic?
Charlotte Nicado: No, I think a hundred percent from the get go there was this idea that their dysfunctional relationship was always gonna be an anchor point for the show. But I do think that as with any good story, it kind of unfolded somewhat organically in terms of just how important to each other these characters were gonna become. And I think that a big part of that, I mean, and I think a lot of our fans would agree was the quarantine episode that we made way back at the end of season one, which kind of, throughout season one you see that these two characters are really important to each other as creative collaborators and then a global pandemic hit and through circumstance we made this episode partly becase we really wanted to be able to keep making the show in these terrible circumstances.
And Megan (Ganz) and Rob (McElhenney) and David (Hornsby) wrote this beautiful episode, which really explored what happens when this character is totally alone and this other character shows up for her. And I think in that moment we really found this deeper dynamic for them that was like, ‘Oh.’ And I think part of that is because the characters found this deeper dynamic. Like maybe they didn’t quite realize how important they were to each other until that moment. And so that was really such a great kicking off point for the next three seasons in terms of them exploring what they mean to each other. And it is such a unique and complicated relationship because they do need each other as colleagues and they do need each other as friends. And in some ways I think both of their messiness needs each other’s messiness, which is why even when they find healthy ways to relate to each other, they just gotta throw a wrench in it.
The Mary Sue: And I’ll say, I watch this show with my roommate who’s also a journalist and she is anti them kissing and I’m team “I want them to kiss.” That is a very big divide too with fans of this show.
Charlotte Nicado: I love to hear that because we talked about that a lot. So this show is so precious to us, and I’m sure you can tell even from the way we talk about it, but even the fact that our bosses are so collaborative with us, we get the opportunity to write, we get the opportunity to direct, we’re always having conversations. So the show is very, very precious to us. And our fan base is very, very precious to us. It’s not lost on us that getting to make four seasons of a show in this age is really unusual. And we really have to thank people for tuning in, especially with big gaps between seasons and continuing to root for these characters and care about these characters. And so given that taking such a huge swing like this where we actually know that most of our audience is gonna be like you and your roommate, 50% of our audience is gonna be like, ‘YES, I’ve been wanting to see this for four seasons’ and 50% is gonna be like, ‘This show has broken my heart. I’m never tuning in again. This show is dead to me. How could they do this to Poppy and Ian?’
But I really, I just wanna really reassure everyone that we’ve thought about it. I promise we’ve thought about it. I promise we know how controversial it is to do this to these two characters. And I promise that the ideas that our incredible writers have in mind for what happens after this moment, it’s gonna be so worth the bomb that we’ve just thrown into these two people’s relationship.
The Mary Sue: Listen, you don’t have to convince me, but I will pass the message along and be like, ‘Listen, it’s worthwhile.’ But also, you kind of touched on something I wanted to bring up because this show, you can tell that you guys love it because so many of you direct episodes or write episodes, everyone has their hands in different pots when it comes to this show in particular, how unique is that for you as an actor to kind of have that kind of freedom with not only a character, but a show as a whole and get to have that collaborative effort? Because I do think that comedy tends to be a little bit more collaborative as an art form, but this show feels particularly special in that kind of like, you know, Parks and Rec got there, but it was like season five or six where people did that and it’s been out the gate with Mythic Quest.
Charlotte Nicado: It is unusual and it is special. And I think a lot of credit goes to Rob McElhenney, who I think he came into this show with all this experience with how incredible a work of art can be when you really listen to all the people that you’re working with. And so he is so good at that. And just on a personal level, I think, you know, when I got cast in this show, I was pretty much ready to give up on Hollywood. I had been coming out for pilot season for many years and I hadn’t booked that job yet and I was like, ‘Maybe this isn’t for me.’ And so just to book, just to get to play the role of Poppy was beyond a dream come true, let alone then now this season I’m getting to direct an episode the way that I get to speak to the showrunners and the writers and even the conversations that I get to have with the camera crew and the costume designers, I never thought I would get to have this kind of experience on a TV show.
And I think it’s probably ruined me for any future jobs. So I really hope we get to keep making more Mythic Quest.
The Mary Sue: I want more Mythic Quest, but I also do think it’s so fun because it’s like looking at you now, I’m like, ‘Oh, your hair doesn’t have the gray that Poppy’s has.’ And I love that you get to let this woman have a gray streak. She doesn’t care. She’s wearing her glasses every day. And she’s like, it’s just who I am. Is that freeing for you as Charlotte getting to do that as Poppy does? Poppy doesn’t care.
Charlotte Nicado: Yes. And in fact, when I got highlights put in my hair for the first time recently, and even as I was doing it, I was like, ‘God, what is this gonna mean when I go back to play Poppy?’ Because she has to have the gray. I’m really making a lot of work for my hairstylist here. But yeah, I think it’s a rare thing in the moments of the show where Poppy has gotten doled up. I remember the Women in Gaming Conference was one of those moments, I remember how much longer it took me in hair and makeup and even costume and how uncomfortable I was in that dress. Which obviously was the point. And I was like, ‘Thank God this is not who this character is because I don’t think I could deal with having to come into set every day and not wear stretchy jeans and a sweatshirt.’
The Mary Sue: That’s so funny. I talked to Adria Arjona about a movie and she was like, I told them this character wouldn’t wear as much makeup as you’re putting on me. And so she just did it herself. I love when women are like, ‘I don’t wanna sit there for that.’
Charlotte Nicado: It was be helpful this season with the pregnancy especially because by the time we finished, when we shot that kiss scene, I was eight months pregnant. So when we started filming, when we were hiding the pregnancy, it was rough work to hide that pregnancy because I think when we started, I was seven months pregnant. I can’t remember how the weeks worked, but I was very pregnant. And so it was really such a relief that we’d already established that she wears these big oversized sweaters so that we could at least hide it a little bit for those first few episodes.
The Mary Sue: Not in that kiss, which I’ll be thinking about. But thank you so much for talking with me. I love this show. I want more seasons of Mythic Quest. And I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see how people react to that kiss.
Charlotte Nicado: I know. I’m so excited and terrified. Go easy on us guys. It’ll be good.
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